Vertically adjustable bowler&#39;s blind with laterally adjustable aiming spot



April 13, 1965 G. J. BURNETT, JR.. ETAL 3,173,181

VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BOWLERS BLIND WITH LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE AIMING SPOT Filed Aug. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Fig.

24 milk 1 George J Burner), Jr: Richard L. King William L. Hobgood INVENTORS l 2 8 J. a e 8 h 7 1 S t 3 e e h S 2 Apnl 13, 19 G J BURNETT, JR, ETAL VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BOWLERS BLIND WITH LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE AIMING SPOT Filed Aug. 2, 1962 George J Hume", Jr. Richard L. King William L. Habgaad INVENTORS Q06 United States Patent 3,178,181 VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BOWLERS BLIND ran? LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE AIMING P George J. Burnett, Jr., 3745 Ramona Drive; Richard L. King, Hinklevilie Road; and William L. Hobgood, 621 N. th St., all of Paducah, Ky.

Filed Aug. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 214,277 7 Claims. (Cl. 27354) The present invention relates to a portable apparatus or device which is expressly designed and structurally adapted for use on and in conjunction with a bowling alley and which is desirable in that it embodies facilities which can be and are relied upon with a view toward training and also practicing ball delivery requirements.

Experimental use of the invention has shown that it aptly and satisfactorily serves the purposes for which it is intended. It has proved out to be an excellent training aid for beginners, is reliably adaptable with a view toward instructing the average bowler, and is equally well effective for use by the better-than-average bowler who, working on his own initiative, desires to perfect his delivery of executing a particular shot and laying the ball on the alley for either straight or curved shots as the case may be.

The invention is such in construction that it may be appropriately and effectually used in any bowling estab lishment using tenpins, duckpins or candle pins so long as the means at the users disposal embodies a conventional bowling alley or lane with a foul line at one end and a pin setup and spotting zone at the other or pit end.

Persons conversant with the art to which the invention relates are also acquainted with the fact that significant success can be assured, generally speaking, to bowlers who spot bowl. In fact, so many professionals follow the spot bowling technique that the procedure in itself is an indication that it is superior to attempting to observe or look at the pins some 60 feet down the alley. In carrying out the principles of the present invention a simple and expedient stand is employed and includes and provides an adjustable screen. This screen can be set to block the bowlers view of the pins as he stands on the approach and during his natural advance to the foul line as he releases the ball, but after release and by standing erect the bowler can then see the pins and ball at the moment it contacts the pins. Thus by preventing the bowler from seeing the pins too soon he can spot bowl in keeping with the principles of the instant invention.

The invention also features, in addition to the aforementioned stand, an adjustable or shiftable light beam which provides a spotlight and functions to project a readily visible illuminable spot on the intended surface of the alley. Thus by resorting to a variable orientation spot and an adjustable blind the user can increase his ability to concentrate on a particular alley spot over which to roll the ball and in this manner lessen the natural impulse to look at the pins and consequently to be able to improve his spot-bowling ability and increase his overall enjoyment of uniform bowling.

It is difiicult if not impossible to tell whether a ball hits the correct strike zone unless the pins have been set up. Nor can it always be assumed that a strike will result even though the ball appears to be headed right for a pocket hit. Only with the pins set in place, as they are with the instant device, can one be sure that the shot resulted in a strike. Accordingly, when some or all of the pins go down the user can see the result.

The use of the adjustable screen or, alternatively, blind which prevents the bowler from seeing the pins during the approach and release phases of his delivery increases his ability to concentrate upon hitting the spot or target, and yet by standing erect after reaching the foul line, he can ice see the pins and his ball as it contacts the pins to determine the real effectiveness of his shot.

Briefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized by the aforementioned stand which in turn embodies vertical legs having suitably constructed feet at lower ends thereof to rest firmly but adjustably on the surfaces of the alley. The upper portions of these legs or uprights serve to support a fixed lower panel confronting or facing the bowler, and a complemental slidingly adjustable non-transparent upper panel, said panels cooperating and providing a two-part blind. Track means extending across the reverse side and supported by the legs provides support means for a slide which in turn supports a suitably constructed source of illumination which is so made as to project a light beam, about the size of a half dollar, on the underlying alley surface in a maner to designate the spot on which the bowler concentrates and which guides the intended shot along the alley and in the direction of the pins.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective showing a conventional bowling alley or lane having a foul line at the approach end and pins set up at the remote end and wherein an apparatus embodying the invention is illus trated in an operative position thereon;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view which may be said to be the reverse or normally unseen side of the apparatus;

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 are views in section and elevation taken on the lines 33, 44 and 55 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal section taken on the plan of the line 66 of FIGURE 3. v

With reference now to FIGURES l and 2 the conventional bowling lane or alley is denoted generally by the numeral 8 and is provided with customary parallel ball return gutters 1t), pin zone 12 on which the pins 14 are set up as usual, approach area or zone 16 and transverse fowl line 18. The stand, considered as a mechanical structural entiety, is denoted by the numeral 20 and the area adjacent to the foul line and which is to be subjected to the variable illuminable spots is denoted at 22. The upstanding or vertical portions of the uprights or legs are denoted from the rear as shown in FIG. 2 as at 24 and these are of duplicate construction. The lower end portions are directed laterally and outwardly at 26 and have oblique angled lower end portions 28 terminating in horizontal angle irons 39 which are of suitable length and which provide runners or supporting feet. Thus the portions 26 and 28 of the legs straddle the gutters so as not to interfere with the return of the balls. The lower median and lower portions of the uprights or legs serve to support a plywood or an equivalent non-transparent relatively wide horizontal panel 32 which constitutes a shield and which is nailed or otherwise fastened as at 34 to the legs. The upper edge 36 of the panel terminates at a predetermined height and the lower edge 38 is parallel to and disposed above the alley surface at a predetermined height so as not to interfere with the rolling of the balls down the alley. The panel 32 is regarded as on the front or obverse side of the stand and confronts the bowler. The second relatively movable or adjustable panel, which is differentiated as a blind, is denoted generally by the numeral 40. This adjustable blind comprises a nontransparen-t panel which may be of cardboard, a suitable plastic material or any other equivalent sheet material which will serve the purpose and which is here designated at 42 and which is mounted in a substantially rectangular frame 44. This panel is vertically adjustable and is provided across :the top with a horizontal tubular barrel or cylinder 46. As shown in FIG. 5 the barrel is openended to accommodate spring-loaded plungers 48- the outer detents or ends 50 of which are projected into guide and retaining channels 52 provided in the inner sides of the upper portions of the legs and are held therein by action of the suitably arranged and acting springs 54. It followsthat this blind 42 can be shifted up and down to the desired elevation relative to the upper edge 36 of the stationary shield or panel 32.

The shiftable, manually regulatable, simple mechanical and electrical illuminable spot mews is mounted on the reverse or rearward side of the stand. The means preferably comprises a substantially rectangular box or housing which is shown in FIG. 3 as denoted generally by the numeral 56 the top wall 58 having vents 60 therein. The upper portion is provided with a horizontal internal divider or partition 62 which in turn provides an upper compartment for the bulb 64 and mounting base 66. The front wall is hingedly mounted at 68 to permit access to be had to the bulb for changing it. The bulb is positioned directly above a washer 76 held in place by a ring-like retainer 72 which arrangement permits projection of the light beam down through the orifice 74 and then down through a magnifying lens or glass 76 held in place by a ring or collar 78 and properly lined up with the focusing hole 80 in the bottom Wall 82 whereby to direct the spo or illuminable beam on the alley surface 22 as suggested in FIG. 1. This lamp box or source of light is provided on a vertical side with attaching and mounting means which embodies a block 84 which is attached to a slide 86 which slide is shiftable in grooved horizontal spaced parallel tracks 88. The conductor or cord to the light bulb is denoted at 90 and the plug at 92 which is connected with a receptacle 94 having additional facilities for another plug for use on the next adjacent bowling alley if desired. The current is supplied by the conductor or wire 96 which is suitably mounted on the upper track in the manner shown.

The legs may be of plywood or aluminum suitably grooved or channeled to receive the spring-loaded dowel pins which function to hold the adjustable blind in whatever position it is moved to depending on the stature of the bowler using the invention. Actually the panel 32 may be said to be a part of the blind since it constitutes a shield and not only hides the beam projecting means on the back but also spans the space between the legs or uprights 24. The runners or-feet fit on the edges of the gutters along the lane and support the legs or uprights in the manner shown in FIG. 4. It will be evident that the adjustable blind 40 may be held in any desired position by way of the spring-loaded dowels or detents shown in FIG. 5. The adjustable or movable target spot which is projected on the surface of the. alley can be moved to any position on the surface of the alley.

It will be evident that the invention will aid a bowler in improving his delivery, developing a better strike ball and also will instill in him the confidence necessary to become a more reliable and relaxed bowler. The idea of blinding the bowler from viewing the pins during his approach and release and yet enabling him too see the result of his shot by merely standing erect at the foul line and the use of the adjustable beam or spot which is projected on the alley surface provides a highly satisfactory and efl'icient training apparatus or device.

Frequent and planned use will help the beginner bowler and also the experienced bowler to groove his delivery into a smooth even style and as a result of practice will enable him to achieve this desirable result over and over and consistently.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the 4. exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A training device for a bowler comprising, in combination, a portable stand having means adapted to rest removably on predetermined portions of a conventional bowling alley, said stand embodying upright means, vertical blind means carried by the upright means and adapted to extend transversely across the surface of the alley at a predetermined height above the plane of the alley, said blind means being of a predetermined span considered in both a horizontal and vertical direction and embodying a fixed low-positioned non-transparent non reflecting blind, and a complemental companion highpositioned and vertically adjustable complemental blind also non-reflecting and non-transparent, the bottom of said low-positioned blind being disposed in a plane fixed in relation to the plane of the bowling alley at a distance which allows the balls to roll freely along the alley without coming into contact with said low-positioned blind, and said blind means, considered as an entity, functioning to block the bowlers view of the pins on his approach and during his natural advance to the foul line as he releases the ball after which and by standing erect he can then see the pins and the ball as it contacts the pins.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein said vertically adjustable blind is provided at vertical end portions thereof with spring-biased detents, the aforementioned upright means embodying a pair of uprights having opposed grooved surfaces, and the intended cooperating detents being fitted retentively into the grooves provided therefor in their respective grooved surfaces.

3. A training device for a bowler designed to increase his ability to concentrate on a particular spot over which to roll the ball and to lessen the natural impulse to look at the pins, said device embodying a vertical blind structure adapted to span the surface of the alley transversely in respect to the lengthwise dimension of the alley and embodying companion upper and lower panels, the lower panel being stationary, the upper panel being vertically adjustable and both panels being non-transparent and having cooperating upper and lower lengthwise edge portions disposed in cooperable overlapping relationship whereby the two panels provide a screen which serves to block the bowlers view of the pins prior to his approach to the ball releasing zone, means adjustably mounted on a reverse side of said blind structure embodying a source of illumination and also embodying complemental component parts which cooperate with the source of illumination and function in conjunction therewith to direct a vertical light beam on a predetermined spot-bowling area of the bowling alley.

4'. The structure defined in claim 3 and wherein said adjustable means is characterized by a lamp box having an illuminable lamp therein, said lamp box having a bottom portion parallel with and in the plane above the bowling alley and provided with a light beam opening, and a magnifying lens fixed in the bottom of said box and registering with said light beam opening.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 and in combination, track means fixed horizontally on a reverse side of said blind structure, and additional means provided on said lamp box and attached thereto, said additional means being ajustably mounted on said track means and permitting the lamp box to be shifted in a horizontal plane parallel to the plane of the bowling alley, whereby the light beam may be projected on the alley surface at any point between the lengthwise edge portions of said alley surface.

6. A training device for use on and in conjunction with a conventional-type bowling alley comprising, in combination, a stand embodying vertical legs provided at lower ends thereof with feet, said feet designed and adapted to rest shiftably but firmly on lengthwise edge surfaces of the bowling alley, a bowlers view blocking screen comprising a lower panel fixed horizontally across said legs and facing a bowler, said panel being non-reflecting and non-transparent, a complemental upper panel slidingly and adjustably mounted on cooperating upper portions of said legs and having a lower lengthwise edge portion adjustable toward and from and cooperating in overlapping relationship with the upper edge portion of the lower panel, track means fixed across a reverse side of the stand and supported by said legs, a slide shiftingly mounted on said track means, a lamp box attached to said slide, a source of illumination confined in said lamp boX, said lamp box having a bottom portion provided with a light beam emitting opening, said opening having an aligned cooperating light magnifying lens, said source of illumination being in alignment with said lens.

7. The structure defined in claim 6 and wherein the References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,283,114 5/42 Wesley.

2,462,340 2/ 49 Simmon et al. 8824 2,466,103 4/49 Hiester 27341 2,565,905 8/51 Belau 160135 2,590,903 4/52 Stretz 16024 2,998,660 9/61 Hickey 27354 X 3,058,746 10/62 Oder 27354 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. TRAINING DEVICE FOR A BOWLER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PORTABLE STAND HAVING MEANS ADAPTED TO REST REMOVABLY ON PREDETERMINED PORTIONS OF A CONVENTIONAL BOWLING ALLEY, SAID STAND EMBODYING UPRIGHT MEANS, VERTICAL BLIND MEANS CARRIED BY THE UPRIGHT MEANS, VERADAPTED TO EXTEND TRANSVERSELY ACROOSS THE SURFACE OF THE ALLEY AT A PREDETERMINED HEIGHT ABOVE THE PLANE OF THE ALLEY, SAID BLIND MEANS BEING OF A PREDETERMINED SPAN CONSIDERED IN BOTH A HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DIRECTION AND EMBODYING A FIXED A LOW-POSITIONED NON-TRANSPARENT NONREFLECTING BLIND, AND A COMPLEMENTAL COMPANION HIGHPOSITION AND VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE COMPLEMENTAL BLIND ALSO NON-REFLECTING AND NON-TRANSPARENT, THE BOTTOM OF SAID LOW-POSITIONED BLIND BEING DISPOSE D IN A PLANE FIXED IN RELATION TO THE PLANE OF THE BOWLING ALLEY AT A DISTANCE WHICH ALLOWS THE BALLS TO ROLL FREELY ALONG THE ALLEY WITHOUT COMING INTO CONTACT WITH SAID LOW-POSITIONED, BLIND, AND SAID BLIND MEANS, CONSIDERED AS AN ENTITY, FUNCTIONING TO BLOCK THE BLOWER''S VIEW OF THE PINS ON HIS APPROACH AND DURING HIS NATURAL ADVANCE TO THE FOUL LINE AS HE RELEASES THE BALL AFTER WHICH AND THE STANDING ERECT BE CAM THEN SEE THE PINS AND THE BALL AS IT CONTACTS THE PINS. 